Thanks for all of the lovely comments and emails regarding my last blog post – One unforgettable food tour to Italy. You will all just have to come with us next year! We will be hosting an info night regarding the 2016 tour and serving dishes from the Ligurian region of Italy so do stay tuned and join us for a night of fun (likely very start of March).

Raw carrot cakes

Very much back in to the full swing (very full swing actually) of cooking classes and me, being the old sook that I am, find myself reflecting on the very special people I am surrounded by at Relish Mama. I have an amazing team of hosts / kitchen assistants as well as some of the finest Chefs going round. They are all great supporters of my food and business philosophy and a huge part of our success (as an added bonus, they are all now friends). Emma Mackay is one of these great folk. Em teaches many classes with us here and in her other incredibly full life, she works for the ASRC catering (Asylum seeker resource centre – catering). She also has three gorgeous children and is studying to be a lawyer – such an under achiever! She is not a woman who sits on her bum. I actually think her bum would go into shock should she ever dare sit on it! ASRC are a pretty cool bunch. They are a non-for-profit social enterprise of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, who offer global food experiences with a cause. Their food reflects the rich and diverse cultures of their asylum seeker members. They are quite a lot more than a catering company –

” we help provide social and economic empowerment for people seeking asylum. Our catering and service team comprises wholly of ASRC asylum seeker members, lead by an Australian chef. When you choose to enjoy our food, you are also helping to empower people seeking asylum in our community.”

Gorgeous busy Emma taught this really lovely recipe in a class here with me last week and I now have a new addiction. This is a recipe from ASRC. Big thanks to them for allowing me to share it here. I think you are all going to love it !

Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the dates. Cook for a few minutes to soften. Drain and roughly chop once they are cool enough to handle.

Grate the carrots and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the zest and juice of the orange.

Toast almonds in a dry frying pan and add these to the mixing bowl. Don’t worry about chopping the almonds as they will break down a little when you mix all the ingredients together. Add the coconut and stir to combine.

Roll the balls into 40g size balls. Roll each ball in toasted flaked almonds that have been coarsely crushed and serve chilled.